Forward Movement??

This GC is getting things done! GC is cool-construction talk for General Contractor.

First, I dropped off the kitchen reno plans to the county for their approval. Mr. Hubby thinks I'm a sucker for going through the proper channels, but that's what good GCs do. The woman at the Building Department was oh-so-nice, at first anyway. Well, let me clarify. She remained nice the entire time, but my lack of proper documentation made me start disliking her, despite the cordiality. She initially said my plans looked "awesome", but then she started asking these annoying questions: what's the lot number? parcel number? township? I'm renovating a kitchen here, lady, not running for County Surveyor.

She then wanted to see the deed to the property. The deed??? Oh, yeah, it's right here in my purse next to the gum. When I gave her my best deer-in-the-headlights look, she backed off and said they could "probably" process my application without it. Whew. I'm supposed to hear in the next week what my permits will cost. According to the website, I'll have to pay for a remodeling permit, a plumbing permit, an electrician permit and a were-you-really-this-stupid-to-apply-for-these-permits-when-you-could-have-gotten-away-with-doing-nothing fee.

Next, the structural engineer specs arrived. For any regular reader, you might recall that we'll have to hire workers who built the Great Pyramids, due to the complexity of the wall removals. Well, that should definitely come in handy since the specs are written in hieroglyphics. I consider myself a fairly intelligent person, but I cannot decipher one drawing on those specs, outside of a giant support column that occupies about half of the proposed kitchen.

And finally, a friend's husband, who just so happens to be a kick-butt GC himself during summers (he's a school counselor during the academic year), came over and gave me tons of advice last night. I was like a clueless note-taking student who doesn't know how to separate the salient points from the stuff that won't be on the test -- I was writing down EVERYTHING he said, including the name of a highly recommended contractor who MIGHT be able to squeeze us into his schedule and take down our walls.

So that's where I'll be at 9:00 tomorrow morning, begging and pleading for this guy to take our money and uphold our second floor. Wish me luck!